


Avalanche

by Taupefox59



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Elves, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fíli Whump, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Ones, Soul Bond, True Love, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-14 20:13:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7188407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taupefox59/pseuds/Taupefox59
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Fíli gets caught in an avalanche, it's up to Kíli to find his brother and bring him home before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Trip to Dale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girlmarvel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlmarvel/gifts).



> Un-beta'd so if you catch anything, please let me know. Constructive Criticism always welcome.

Fíli woke up slow, content and safe in the arms of his brother. He hummed gently and gave himself a few minutes to snuggle closer and relax to the steady cadence of their shared heartbeat. It was cold outside, he knew that. Snow was most likely already falling outside the protective cover of the mountain. Fíli would be taking his normal guard of ten, but they would have to be on ponies for ease of passage. 

It wasn’t that dwarves weren’t hardy enough to make it through the snow, but rather that the winds between the mountains could easily cause drifts taller than a dwarf. Ponies made the trip vastly easier. 

He would be leaving later that day, away only to Dale for a week of diplomatic talks that were honestly mostly just for show. Bard had become a close friend over the past few years. 

After they had reclaimed Erebor from Smaug, and defeated the orcish armies that had flooded the mountain, it had become clear that Thorin had shaken off whatever Dragon sickness that had taken hold of him while they had been searching for the Arkenstone. It hadn’t taken long for Dis to arrive either, and she quickly assumed a position of High Chancellor, as well as Princess, securing her position as second in power only to Thorin.

With Dis and her wife Princess-Consort Khlunmä back in the line of succession, it had taken the pressure off of Fíli and Kíli to go through the process of a formal courtship. They were able to skip the years of chaperoned meetings and mandated time spend apart; as if that ever would have worked for them in the first place. Not with the way that they had always been intertwined, Ever since Kíli had been born, their hearts had been in sync. 

Fíli couldn’t remember a time in his life when he couldn’t feel where his brother was, how he was doing, where he was going. 

Neither of them could even comprehend the idea of what it must be like to go through the world as a single person, without the complete and innate knowledge of your One, simply  _ there. _

 

Regardless of the lessened pressure that came with having their mothers present, they did still have duties to attend to. Which meant that Fíli had to get up. He pulled himself out of bed, only for Kili to whine at the cold air let in from the movement of their blankets.

“Where you goin’, Fí?” Kíli asked, still half asleep.

“To Dale? Where I’ve been planning to go for nearly an age?”

“No making fun ‘till I’m awake.” Kíli pouted, and Fíli laughed. He couldn’t help but to walk back across the room so he could press a soft kiss to his brother’s pouting mouth.

“I’ll be  back in no time.”

“You and I both know that’s a lie.” Kíli said, raising an eyebrow.

Fíli scrunched his nose in distaste. “Don’t remind me.”  It wasn’t as if they  _ couldn’t _ be apart. It was just that they both felt the uncomfortable stretch of their bond the entire time. They’d been half the world apart, it wasn’t as if they weren’t able to function without each other. It was just that they worked so much better together. They were meant to be a team, built for each other by Mahal.

In some ways that worked against them, because it meant that while Fíli was well-loved by the Men of Dale, Kíli had far greater favor with the Elves of Mirkwood, so their diplomatic missions nearly always split them up. Fíli fought in close-combat, so he was in rotation of the close guard, who stood the walls of Erebor. Kíli, with his archery, was part of the scouting troops who would leave the mountain in order to maintain the borders of their land.

It was never truly a problem though, because there was always, always that same, steady heat, that heartbeat that echoed between the two of them, steady, slow and perfectly theirs. 

 

After breakfast with his brother (and a few more kisses) Fíli was down in the stables, double-checking his pack. The snow had started to drift, so the ponies truly would be a necessity if they wanted to have any chance of making it to Dale on their previously arranged schedule. Kíli showed up (as always) to see them off.

It wasn’t that it was  _ rare _ so much to have a one, more that that Fíli and Kíli truly did share a bond with a degree of strength that was virtually unheard of. However, bonds only strengthened over time, and they had been using theirs for virtually their entire lives. If they were both inside the mountains, it would take mere moments for one to know where the other was. Even leagues apart, they were still always able to find each other.

  
  


The journey to Dale to started easily enough. Most of the snow was blocked out by the silhouette of the mountain. It was when they had crossed around to the back of the Lonely Mountain that they ran into trouble. One of the guards shouted the standard warning when she saw wolves.  It was nothing out of the ordinary for the time and place, but it didn’t mean they would have to be wary. Fíli, who was near the back of the line, but still had three guards riding behind him, was hardly worried.

Until they heard the rumble.

It only made sense. Of course the snow would be unstable. After a hundred years of being home to a dragon, after seeing one of the most horrific battles of an age. The mountain had finally reached it’s breaking point. All it took was one innocent call to cause the entire thing to come crashing down.

Fear crackled down Fíli’s spine. “Run!” He screamed, knowing they had no chance of truly outrunning an avalanche, but knowing that they still had to try. The ponies needed no prompting, easily breaking into the fastest gallop that they could. Fíli had no idea how far they’d gotten when the snow hit.

Fíli had no idea about much; just the impact that was worse than a warhammer to the side. The snow hit, his pony went down. Fíli felt the bone in his thigh snap, but didn’t have any time to process the pain before he was tumbling down, down, until his head struck something and everything went dark.

 

 

In Erebor, Kíli fell to his knees with a scream.

  
  
  



	2. Out of the Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search party find Fili, but he's not in a good way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd so if you catch anything, please let me know! con/crit always welcome!

 

It took no time at all for Dís to have arranged a search party, as Kíli was determined to leave as soon as possible, feeling the pain that his One was in, It took both of his mothers, and then finally Thorin stepping in to make sure that he waited for a group to be put together, as the snow was not yet stable and they would have to be very careful.

Thorin made sure that the group was full of his most trusted, just in case anything were to happen to the Princes of Erebor. 

No one said it, but they all knew that if one were to go, the other would surely follow.

The group was led by Dwalin, though it included Nori, for his fleet footedness and Oin for his knowledge of medicine. Bofur went along to do his best to keep Kíli distracted from the whatever recklessness that lay in wait in his desperation to get to his brother. It was Tauriel, though, who brought the most hope with her. 

She had been staying at Erebor since her banishment from Mirkwood, and the light nature of her elvish feet, and her keen hearing made her most likely out of anyone to find their missing prince. 

The six of them set out on foot, taking the sacrifice of time in order to gain the surety of footing. The dwarves marched a path through the snow, led by Kíli’s inner compass to his brother. Tauriel sprinted ahead, light on the snow, to search for any other survivors, as well as the prince. 

  
  


***

 

Fíli hurt. Everywhere he hurt.  Everything was dark, which was very, very bad. It meant he was under enough snow that no light could get through. There was a very real possibility that he could suffocate trying to get out. He was lucky enough as it was that he somehow managed to get trapped with enough space to move, to breathe for even a little while. 

The pain radiating from his leg was intense, possibly worse than anything he’d ever felt before. Worse than falling into the goblin pit by far, eclipsing even the damage done from when he and Kíli had helped Thorin battle Azog. The pain was a grating, stabbing thing, throbbing and radiating out enough that it stole his breath every time he even thought of moving it. He had to though, he had to get out. He knew that no one would be able to find him under the snow.

Not even Kíli.

The first problem was gravity. Fíli was against a tree with no idea which way was up, and he was too afraid that pushing on show might make some of his life-saving bubble disappear. If whatever snow was on top of him collapsed now, he knew there would be no way out for him.

There had to be a way out for him, because he could feel Kíli’s fear and desperation spurring on his own, and he knew, as he had always known, that if he didn’t make it, his brother would follow. He could not stay in the snow. Not for himself, and not for his brother.

Fíli was able to reach his water skin on his hip without moving much, barely jostling the snow around him. With as much delicacy as he could muster through hands shaking from pain, he unstoppered it and poured just the smallest amount out. The water traveled towards his feet, following the pull of gravity. Somehow, Fíli seemed to be standing straight up.

It certainly made things easier.

The next thing Fíli had to do was prepare for the pain. He could not tend to his leg, and he would have to use everything he had if he wanted to get far enough out of the snow to find air again.

He knew all the tricks for holding his breath for a long time - anyone who lived near the mines did. Just in case someone hit a pocket of bad air, everyone learned a few techniques, how to trick the body into making a breath last longer so rescue attempts could be made. Fíli stood there, taking short, shallow breaths; hyperventilating until he was almost dizzy with it. Then, he took the biggest breath he could, brought his arms up, and pulled the snow down around him.

  
  
  


*****

  
  
  


Tauriel had found two of the other dwarves caught in the avalanche. One still alive, but one would need immediate care if he was going to survive. She delivered them back to the group to see that Kíli was leading the Dwarves still, heading in a singular path. She did not understand how the brothers always knew how to find each other, but she did not question what she knew to be true.

She was still searching when Kíli screamed again and started trying to force his way faster through the snow. Bofur was at his side in a moment, but Kíli was beyond being calmed. Tauriel ran back to the group as quickly as she could.

“Let me take him.” she said, “I move faster than all of you, and I can carry him on my back. We shall find the prince and be back before you ever get there.”

Kíli looked up at her, eyes dark with fear and desperation. “Please. Please help me find him.”

It took nothing at all for Tauriel to haul Kíli out of the snow and onto her back. She sank a few inches into the snow with the dwarf on her back, but it barely slowed her stride. Now the true search was on. 

Kíli’s arms were locked around her shoulders, and she held his legs around her waist as she ran. He was murmuring corrections to her the entire time.

“No, a bit more to the left, keep going, it’s this way.”

He got more and more agitated as the got closer, but Tauriel didn’t have the heart to reprimand him, knowing that the other half of his soul was trapped in the endless depths of snow. 

For all that Kíli could feel his brother, it was Tauriel who first spotted the flash of golden hair upon the snow. She forced herself to run even faster.

Kíli was silent now. Now that he was so close he could feel his brother’s pain washing over him, but he could feel too, that their heartbeat was still going, that his brother’s life had not yet slipped away.

Fíli had managed to get his shoulders out of the snow, and for all appearances could have been resting peacefully there, if not for the fact that the rest of him was clearly still trapped.

“We have to dig him out.” Tauriel said, gently setting Kíli back into the snow, where he quickly sank nearly to his waist.

Kíli nodded grimly. “Be careful with his leg, he’s hurt it quite badly.”

Ever so carefully they dug out around the golden prince of Erebor, gently moving snow so they wouldn’t injure him further. They had nearly gotten him out, when Kíli felt his heartbeat stutter.

He turned to Tauriel, pale with fear. “He hasn’t got time. You have to take him.” They were both ignoring the sick angle of Fíli’s leg. “Please,” Kíli begged “You must take him straight to the  mountain. He won’t make it any other way, he’s getting worse, I cannot lose him!” Fear made his words run together, his voice growing low and frantic. 

Tauriel calmed him with a hand to his shoulder. “I cannot leave you alone, but I cannot carry you both.”

Kíli set his jaw. “You can leave me alone. I shall find the others. I can follow your footsteps back. My being lost doesn’t matter if Fíli does not get help.”

Tauriel paused for a moment, realizing the truth of Kíli’s words, then she nodded. “I won’t stop until I’ve reached the best of your physicians.” She pledged the words. Kíli’s shoulders sagged in relief.

Tauriel knelt down and gently finished extricating Fíli from the snow. She pulled him close to her chest, one hand under his back and careful with where she put her other arm around Fíli’s injured leg. She turned to Kíli. “I will come back when your brother is safe.”

Kíli shook his head. “Stay with him. You know medicine that my people don’t. I will be fine as long as he is.”

Tauriel had no time to contemplate the strangeness of dwarves. She simply nodded, stood and ran as fast as she could back to Erebor. 

Kíli turned, and trudged back the way they’d come, going to meet the group he’d left behind. When he reached them, he found that they had sent Nori and Dwalin back with sledges already, having found a third person in the snow who needed medical attention.

Everyone knew that Kíli could not stay to help search for more, however. Not with his One in such a precarious position. They had all seen the elf run by with Fíli in her arms. When Kíli appeared they simply got out of his way as he ran to follow the path of his One. Everyone knew that the brothers healed better when they were together. The faster Kíli got home, the better Fíli’s chances of surviving.

The group got out of the way, and Kíli sprinted by.

 


	3. What Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fili has been found, and despite medicine, there is one thing that truly matters more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd, so if you catch anything please let me know. Con/Crit always appreciated.
> 
> Friendly warning: I know absolutely nothing about medicine. :D

  
  


Kíli ran. Kíli ran as he could feel his heartbeat stutter, and he could feel the phantom pain in his leg, as it grew and spread, pulsing and throbbing. He didn’t see anything, following his feet, following the inner compass, his knowledge of his One. he didn’t need directions, he didn’t need eyes, not when he could  _ feel _ Fíli’s pain. The way it grew to a full body burn, and Kíli could feel a sweat break over him, and he couldn’t tell if it came from Fíli or himself, and he simply forced himself to run faster.

He wasn’t sure when snow and ice gave way to the maintained gravel paths that led to Erebor. He didn’t register passing through the gates, or making his way through the now-familiar halls of the mountains. He felt like he didn’t belong in his own body anymore, like he was simply floating inside of it. His body was moving, but he was simply riding inside of it. He could feel hands, didn’t register them, didn’t care who they were or why they were there. He simply kept running.

He didn’t stop until he’d reached the healing wing. He flew, unseeing, past however many Dwarfish doctors were there. He didn’t notice Tauriel there, gathering things to work her Elvish magic. All he saw was Fíli in the bed, with one leg of his trouser cut open, to reveal his leg at an unhealthy and strange angle. Kíli felt shaky and cold, and knew he had to get to his brother. Carefully, so carefully, completely unaware of anything else in the room, Kíli walked around the bed to Fíli’s uninjured side and crawled in. 

Kíli could feel where all of Fíli’s injuries were, the deep bruising that was going to come up on Fíli’s chest, the sprain that would surface in Fíli’s elbow later. None of that mattered now, when Fíli’s heartbeat was nothing more than a flutter where it had always been the steady confidence of a war drum.

It was a silence that echoed, and Kíli had never heard anything like it before. All he knew was that he hated it. Hated the space that lingered that should have been filled with the strength of his brother.

Kíli got into the bed, curled gently around Fíli’s hurts and placed his head over his brother’s heart and closed his eyes. Whatever happened would happen to both of them, and that would be together. It was all they had ever asked of each other, and Kíli would honour those vows, no matter what.

  
  
  


It was more difficult working with Kíli there, but everyone knew that if anything could improve Fíli’s chances, it was the presence of his One. No one mentioned how obviously Fíli needed all the help he could get. He was pale to the point of nearly being white, sweat dripping from his brow. Dwarves called it ‘crash’, Tauriel called it ‘Flickering’, those who worked with Men had heard it called ‘shock’ before. Whatever it was, Fíli was deep in the throes of it, shivering and shaking, yet sweating all the same. 

It was the dwarves who set the bone, who could tell it was a clean enough break that they could simply force the bones back into place. They forced leather into Fíli’s mouth, but it did nothing to muffle the scream, as it took four dwarves and an elf to hold him in place to set the bone. It didn’t help that Kíli screamed as well, tensing and twitching around his brother.  The bone was heavy enough that it didn’t move easily enough, but luckily the dwarves could  _ feel _ it when it sunk back into place. 

That was when Tauriel moved forward, with her bitter mixtures of herbs, and her Elvish light, to fight off the cold that was starting to inch towards Fíli’s heart. The dwarves worked to splint Fíli’s leg, and Tauriel poured tinctures down his throat to fight the Flickering.

No one knew how long they had all been there, when Kíli suddenly sighed quietly and peacefully enough that they all took a step back. 

Fíli had regained his colour, enough that they knew he was no longer in danger of being lost to an invisible chill. It was when Fíli’s eyes finally opened, and he glanced at everyone before turning and meeting his brother’s eyes.

“Together, or not at all” Kíli said fiercely, and Fíli gave an exhausted smile.

“I love you too.” 

Kíli smiled softly, and they both slipped back into sleep.

  
  


The next time Fíli woke up, his leg had set up in a sort of flume, a triangular contraption with a space carved out for his leg, that meant he was completely and wholly unable to move the limb at all. He could feel bandaging wrapped around his chest, and a splint around his arm. None of it mattered in comparison to the familiar weight of Kíli’s head on his chest, just above his heart.

After the awareness of his brother though, came the awareness of pain. Every part of him hurt. His leg ached, with sharp, bright pain, as well as a deep ache. Fíli had a feeling that he may never truly be free of the ache, or that like some, it would often hurt in the cold of winter. 

He pulled Kíli closer with his good arm, and Kíli mumbled softly, clearly waking up from deep sleep. When dark eyes met his own, Fíli could see the worry that had plagued his brother, he could feel it from the bond that they shared.

Now that Fíli was no longer in danger, Kíli was feeling the full weight of what had almost happened. The horror that he had never truly considered before of losing his brother when they were alone. It washed over the two of them, leaving them perhorrescing in each other’s arms.

“Nothing happened, Kí. I’m fine.”

“Things did happen, and you’re hardly fine Fíli.” Kíli corrected him sternly, but Fíli could hear the fear that still lingered.

“But you are here now. So you know, you  _ know _ , my love. I will be alright. You are here, and that is all we need.”

Kíli sniffed wetly and brought a hand up to wipe at his eyes. “I was so afraid.” he admitted softly.

Fíli pulled him closer. “So was I. I was terrified.” He paused. “I stopped being afraid though, did you know that?”

Kíli frowned.

“When I felt your head on my heart, just where it should be. I knew that no matter what happened, it would all be alright.”

Kíli shook his head, and blinked as if that would keep his tears at bay. Being ever so careful, Kíli shifted up to kiss his brother, his lover, his One.

 

Fíli was right; they were together, and no matter what happened, that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to come talk to me about fic, (or not about fic!) come say hi at [my tumblr!](http://taupefox59.tumblr.com/)


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